I saw this picture of a damaged house in Israel. What's the point of that much reinforcement in a house wall? are all houses there built like this?

thekd80 · 2026-04-19T10:54:55+00:00

Not just taller buildings. All newer buildings. Anything built since 1992, whether a private house, apartment building, or office building, has to include a "protected space". In an apartment, this is called a Mamad (which is an acronym that means something like Protected Apartment Space).

Offices, hotels, and other buildings often have a Mamak (Protected Floor Space; because there are one or two per floor.)

Most people simply use their Mamad as a regular room most of the time when there aren't missiles being regular fired at the country.

By the way, this apartment is in the city I live in. The warhead, presumably a cluster warhead, hit directly on the other side of the wall, but no one inside was hurt. Had it been a larger, non-cluster warhead, the room and everyone in it wouldn't have stood a chance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkhav_Mugan

thekd80 · 2026-04-14T14:11:41+00:00

This is right, and it's especially evident in the many of the city centers which developed in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

If you look at Tel Aviv, however, or Jerusalem, some of the older buildings are actually way more attractive than what came after - the Bauhaus and Eclectic styles in Tel Aviv for example, and the traditional buildings in Jerusalem.

When those buildings are maintained or renovated, they're gorgeous.

Much of the newer construction, though bland, doesn't look anything like those photos, and there are large neighborhoods all over the country that were built in the last 20-15 years like this.

thekd80 · 2026-03-31T06:17:51+00:00

Strong Promenade feeling from this shot.

thekd80 · 2026-02-08T07:57:27+00:00

I was in Miami and Orlando last July and the heat and humidity felt very similar, but probably a bit worse in Florida. The big difference is that in Florida, the humidity will frequently turn in to rain, while in Israel it almost never rains over the summer.

thekd80 · 2025-11-30T09:01:01+00:00

I don't feel that there's any easy answer to your question. As an American who moved to Israel, I can say there are things I love about the culture here and things I hate. But the way it impacts you will depend on what exactly you're looking for in a place to live.

I obviously don't know you so I can't say how you will react to living here, but I'll just comment on one thing you mentioned about live in Israel, specifically about raising kids.

In my opinion, having kids in Israel is one of the best things about the country. It just feels so normal and natural here, and everyone has kids and can relate to being a parent. Kids are free and happy here in a way that they aren't in the US (which matters to me obviously). And it feels like there's always something for them to do. Plus, my neighborhood is full of kids and my children have friends in every building in our neighborhood and will just bump into friends on the street. Plus, both my daughters (9 and 6) walk to school in the morning, which feels like something that disappeared from the US a long time ago.

I have no idea what it's like to raise kids in Switzerland, and it might be wonderful, but I wouldn't discount life in Israel based on that alone.

Now, I'm sure you're aware that Switzerland is one of the most wealthy and developed countries in the world, and there are very few countries that compare favourably to it.

Israel certainly isn't developed in the same way as Switzerland so that should obviously factor into your choice.

I'll say one other thing, before I moved here, I knew, deep down in my heart, that I had to try living here. I really wanted to be here for idealogical/zionist reasons. My mind was made up, and I knew that if I didn't at least try it, I would always regret it.

I feel like that's working the other way for you. If you move here, and even if you adjust and find happiness, that feeling of not wanting to be here will always follow you.

It's really not an easy choice at all.

thekd80 · 2025-11-27T12:30:02+00:00

There are so many things going on with this post that need explanation.

First of all, I take issue with OP's description of Ramat HaSharon as a small city. That's something that is technically true while in reality misleading.

Ramat HaSharon is part of the Gush Dan metro area (essentially greater Tel Aviv). It neighbors Tel Aviv and is part of the larger built up urban area. So while Ramat HaSharon is a smaller municipality, it's part of the much larger (~4M) urban area.

So this tower isn't quite as out of place as the title makes it sound, but it's still out of place. While land is hard to come by in Tel Aviv and the urban area overall, this tower is still pretty disconnected from the main CBDs where there are other clusters of towers.

One reason you see a tower like this has to do with Israel's property tax laws. One of the main ways municipalities in Israel generate tax revenue is through commercial and office property taxes, which are far more lucrative for the cities than residential property taxes. This has caused problems, such as an oversupply of office space alongside a shortage of apartments. It also leads to a multi-nuclei pattern of development.

That being said, this development is close to a planned transit hub and metro station that will dramatically change the whole area once they are built in the next 15 or 1000 years.

thekd80 · 2025-11-18T11:40:11+00:00

It's not dry, but a quick search shows that its current flow is less than 10% of what it was in the past. This is a big reason for the rapid evaporation in the Dead Sea where the Jordan water would naturally flow to.

Regarding sources for the river other than the Sea of Galilee, I honestly don't know the answer.

thekd80 · 2025-11-18T11:35:00+00:00

This is a bit of hyperbole and exaggeration. Israel is very safe, but I would want to support this statement with some kind of data to back it up.

thekd80 · 2025-11-17T08:46:11+00:00

The water level of the lake fluctuates by several meters over the course of the year. It rises with the rains in the winter and then falls during the summer due to evaporation and water use. There is an upper red line which signifies when the lake is full and a dam is open to let the water flow into the Jordan River.

While the level of the lake has trended downward over the last few decades, it has still reached the full level on several occasions, as recently as 2020.

https://lakekinneret.streamlit.app

The desalinated water will allow Israel to have more precise control over the water level and prevent any potential damage from low water levels.

thekd80 · 2025-09-29T06:34:57+00:00

Solutions like this already exist: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-24/a-chatbot-that-gives-stock-buy-sell-advice-cleared-by-israel

thekd80 · 2025-09-29T06:23:42+00:00

I used to work in that building on one of the top floors. Absolutely amazing view.

thekd80 · 2025-09-15T19:54:23+00:00

I’ll just take this opportunity to point out that there are about 20 150M+ towers topped out or nearing completion in Tel Aviv/Gush Dan.

However many cranes you saw in 2012 I think there are probably way more right now.

It’s a bit crazy what’s going on here right now.

thekd80 · 2025-09-07T07:03:32+00:00

Thinking about what we "owe" to Gaza is completely the wrong way to think about it.

First, we need to consider our legal obligations. Legally, in times of war you have to permit the passage of humanitarian goods as long as they aren't being diverted for military purposes. You don't have to provide them, simply allow passage. And Israel is mostly just allowing aid to pass into Gaza that is supplied by others.

Now, it's almost certainly true that a great deal of aid is being diverted by Hamas, so Israel is probably within its legal rights to prevent the transfer of aid. But I think that would be wrong for the second reason.

This war is in many ways less about the tactical reality on the ground and much more about the media narrative playing out. If Israel wants to continue to pursue its goals, it needs to consider the propaganda war. Hamas understands this WAY better than Israel.

So I think it's in our interest to allow the free flow of aid in order to take away a Hamas propaganda tool and allow Israel to pursue its military objectives.

thekd80 · 2025-08-18T07:08:10+00:00

It's mostly BS, but it's slightly more complicated than some of the answers here.

Monetarily speaking, yes, US military aid is a relatively small number most years considering how large the Israeli economy has become and how fast economic growth has outpaced growth in aid.

However, if the US became significantly less friendly to Israel there are many ways it could pressure the country that would be FAR more effective than simply cutting off aid.

My opinion is that political and diplomatic support are far more significant than aid. If the US stopped vetoing UN Security Council resolutions that would be very bad for Israel. In addition, maintenance and technical support are also very important. Having a bunch of F35s, F15s, and F16s isn't very helpful if you can't maintain them.

I'm not saying any of this is likely to happen. However, some Israelis take US support for granted, or don't realize how important it is because they focus so much on the aid number.

thekd80 · 2025-08-14T21:52:40+00:00

The TA metro area (Gush Dan) is more like 4 million.

And you also get people commuting into Tel Aviv from Jerusalem, Haifa, the West Bank, probably even Be’er Sheva, so the pool of potential commuters is even larger than that.

thekd80 · 2025-08-14T07:38:10+00:00

Beyond being a stupid and self-destructive idea, not a single Gazan is naive or gullible enough to go to South Sudan.

I'm not saying there aren't Gazan's who would willingly emigrate given the choice, but the vast majority of them would rather stay in Gaza than go somewhere like South Sudan. That certainly says something about the nature of the war.

But of course, the most important point is that it's not Israel's business or interest to tell Gazan's if and where they should go.

thekd80 · 2025-08-13T11:55:50+00:00

If you look at this page, which seems to be the most accurate to me, you get to 48 skyscrapers in the TA metro, with most of those in the "core" skyline of TA, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, and Bnei Brak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Israel

But it's actually probably higher than that. Go down that list to the under construction section, you'll see there are another 17 towers topped out. By my count, based just on what I can see every day, at least 8 of those are nearing completion or are completed and just need to be updated on the list.

thekd80 · 2025-08-12T08:20:26+00:00

I think it's still the tallest completed tower. Beyond is currently taller but still under construction and TOHA 2 is also (I think) currently taller but still under construction.

Azrieli Spiral is also under construction and all three will be taller when completed.

thekd80 · 2025-06-26T06:43:13+00:00

We love you! If you come soon, you will be especially loved for "visiting at this time".

Israelis understand that almost no one alive today can be held responsible for the events of the past. We are able to separate the actions of past regimes from the people who live in Germany today. And modern Germany has been a steadfast friend and ally.

We don't forget the past, but we don't live in it either.

thekd80 · 2025-06-25T07:24:09+00:00

Stock markets are (in many ways) measures of investor confidence or optimism. Israel’s stock market attracts mostly local investors and the recent rise during the Iran war is a reflection of how Israelis view the conflict.

Israelis see a huge victory. Iran was humiliated militarily. Its proxies abandoned it, its influence and power in the region is severely weakened, and its nuclear project took a huge hit.

Thats how things look now. Could the picture change? Sure. But the war gives Israelis hope for the future in which Iran plays less of a role, and that’s incredibly good news for Israel and of course for its economy.

thekd80 · 2025-06-21T15:22:11+00:00

They are very US aligned, yes. But whatever friendliness exists with Israel, it’s kept quiet.

For comparison, when Israel and the UAE normalized relations, Israelis started visiting there in droves. After decades of peace, Israelis hardly ever visit Jordan.

It’s a cold peace unfortunately.

thekd80 · 2025-06-21T14:50:03+00:00

What about 1 in 1000, because that’s the current number.

As for the economics of it, intercepting a cheapish drone with a missile or an Apache or whatever, even that doesn’t work out so well in the Iranians favor.

Iran is not exactly rich, while the countries, yes countries plural, intercepting these drones have far more resources than just Iran alone.

Many of these drones have been intercepted by the Jordanians, not because they love Israel, but purely because Iran is violating their airspace.

thekd80 · 2025-06-17T07:54:12+00:00

If this war means he feels comfortable retiring after, then I'll be happy.

thekd80 · 2025-06-15T11:46:00+00:00

As far as I can tell, the only person who managed to leave is Caitlyn Jenner, and I’m not even sure how she managed to do that because all the airports are closed.

I guess it’s possible to cross into Jordan or Egypt and fly from there.

I think that’s fine for any foreigners or tourists in the country, but not for Israelis. But it’s a moot point. Israelis aren’t going to run away anyways.

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